How Do You Calculate Your Ecological Footprint?

To calculate your ecological footprint you need to take a few different factors into consideration and perform some slightly complex maths. This helps you to understand your environmental impact and reliance on our planet. The easiest way to find out your ecological footprint is to use a tool, such as the Global Footprint Network's Calculator. You need to provide a small amount of information to get started, here are a few of the key bits used in the calculation:

• How often do you eat meat, fish, eggs, or dairy? Whether you're a vegan or full carnivore - consuming meat, fish, and dairy at every chance you can get - it has a huge impact on our planet. Animal products and the farming industry create a huge amount of emissions per year, causing damage to our planet.
• How much food you eat is locally produced? Fruit, vegetables, and other local produce which hasn't traveled, been processed, or packaged. Ideally, we'd all be eating local fruit and vegetables that aren't flown or driven to us.
• What kind of house do you live in? And what's it made of? Do you live in a house, does it have running water? Or maybe you live in an apartment block or luxury flat - the amount of space your home takes up and the materials used to produce it all have an environmental impact.
• How big's your house and how many people live there? The calculator looks at the square footage of your home per occupant.
• Does your house have electricity and how energy efficient is it? Your home should be as energy-efficient as possible. You want double glazing, insulation, and low-energy lightbulbs.
• How much of the energy you use is renewable? Solar panels or wind turbines, however you chose to get your energy - we hope you're trying to reduce your reliance on traditional fuels.
• How far do you drive by car or motorbike each week, and do you often drive with friends and colleagues? Sharing journeys with colleagues and friends helps to reduce traffic on the roads and emissions.

All of these factors play into calculating your ecological footprint. However, it's important to remember that your ecological footprint is just a number. It doesn't take into consideration your circumstances or the effect you have on the people around you. The most important thing is to use your ecological footprint as a starting point to help you live a more sustainable life.

What are some of the things you can do to reduce your ecological footprint?

There are several things you can do to reduce your ecological footprint. Some of the most effective things you can do are:

• Eating less meat and dairy
• Eating organic food
• Cycling or walking instead of driving
• Taking public transport
• Living in a smaller home
• Using recycled paper
• Composting your food waste
• Recycling your bottles, cans, and plastics
• Using energy-efficient light bulbs
• Having double glazed windows
• Washing your clothes in cold water
• Line drying your clothes
• Buying refurbished tech on Doji

You can also offset your carbon footprint by planting trees or investing in green energy. Offsetting your carbon footprint means that you are taking action to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that you are releasing into the atmosphere. This can be done by planting trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or by investing in green energy, such as solar or wind power.

Take action today to reduce your ecological footprint and help make our planet a cleaner, healthier place for future generations.